The new Global Awareness Forum at the College of Charleston is a hub for globally-focused events and discussions. Coordinated by the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, the Forum will make it easier for both the campus and Charleston community to learn about and attend free events with an international tie. The first event takes place October 1, 2013.
[Related: View Global Awareness Forum calendar of events.]
“So many of the events held on campus would have broad appeal, but people simply don’t know they are happening,” explains English Professor Simon Lewis, chair of the Global Awareness Forum Steering Committee. “Access to amazing lectures and discussions is one of the benefits of living in close proximity to a college, and we want the Charleston community to take advantage. We also want students to gain a global perspective, so we’ll be featuring both scholarly events, and events hosted by student organizations or the Office of Student Life.”
The first event as part of the Global Awareness Forum is “Mandela’s Legacy: Twenty Years of Democracy in South Africa,” a lecture by Professor Roger Southall from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. The event will be held October 1, 2013 at 1:40 p.m. in the Alumni Center of the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance (86 Wentworth St.).
For more than 25 years, Professor Roger Southall has been teaching at South African universities and is currently the Van Zyl Slabbert Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Departments of Political Studies and Sociology at the University of Cape Town. Southall has been an active and critical academic participant in South Africa during its most historic recent decades in the struggle against apartheid and the building of the new South Africa since the first independence elections in 1994. His contributions were recognized in 2012 when the South African Political Science Association presented Professor Southall with its Award for “Lifetime Contribution to the Discipline.”
Other Global Awareness Forum events in October 2013 include:
“The Jewish Deli in America”
Ted Merwin, Dickinson College of Charleston
Sunday, October 6 from 10-11 a.m.
Arnold Hall (96 Wentworth St.)
“The Climate Heats Up”
Bill McKibben, author
Monday, October 16 at 6 p.m.
Physicians Auditorium (3 College Way)
“Seeing Gods: Constructing Ephiphanic Experiences in Ancient Greece and Rome”
John R. Clark, University of Austin
Tuesday, October 17 at 7 p.m.
Simons Center for the Arts, room 309 (54 St. Philip St.)
“The Intersection between Politics, Ethnicity and Crime in Guyana”
Mellissa Ifill, University of Guyana
Tuesday, October 22 from 4-5 p.m.
Alumni Center, School of Education, Health, and Human Performance (86 Wentworth St.)
Only College of Charleston events will be considered for the Global Awareness Forum and are selected based on the international connection. Spring 2013 events must be submitted by November 30, 2013 to be considered. For the 2014-15 academic year, the Steering Committee hopes to have themes, like war, poverty or environmental issues, with some events specifically designed as part of the theme.
For more information, contact Simon Lewis at lewiss@cofc.edu.
